The subject says it all, what did teens like between this period?
My parents were of age during this time. What did they like? What did teens like before Haley’s Comets? My parents were pre-Haley’s? They were from Iowa. They are over 70 now and after WWII. What did they like in music? Did they curse like us now? I hate that they liked Frank Sinatra, but what dis they listen to?
SENOR
Hey, don’t dis Ol’ Blue Eyes.
Jazz or easy listening for music. In fact, history now portrays all teenagers during the 50’s as r’n’r crazed. Not so, a lot of them were into jazz.
Perry Como was real big back then.
My mother and father graduated from high school in 1952. We still have some of my mother’s records:
Tony Martin
The Inkspots
The Mills Brothers
Frank Sinatra
Rosemary Clooney
Patti Page
As to their social life? Both of my parents grew up in a very rural area (well, then it was rural, now it is considered a suburb of Washington DC), but still managed to go to school dances, movies, dinner, and “hang outs.” My father had a 1950 Pontiac convertible and looked like a young Paul Newman. Mother looked like Audrey Hepburn in “Funny Face.”
Teens prior to rock liked the same music their parents did. There were some exceptions (Frank Sinatra started out as a teen idol who was disliked by the older generation – though more for his image than for his actual singing, since he often sung the same songs the parents liked when other singers did them), but by and large there were few conflicts over it between generations. (Remember – in the late 40s, classical music made about 40% of all record sales. Things were much different.
Teens usually dressed like their parents, too – boys wearing jackets and ties to school.
No one cursed. It was considered the sign of a lower class illiterate at best. Teen girls would never do it at all; boys might among close friends or to give someone a shock, but not without being aware of exactly what they were doing.
What did they do? There were dances, but they were formalized. Everyone dressed up in their best suits and dresses; girls had a dance card. That’s a literal term – a piece of cardboard folded in half with lines for ten dances. They would attach to the girl’s wrist, and have a small pencil to write down names. Girls would fill in their dance card with the names of boys who asked them. “Save the last dance for me” was a literal request – it’s asking the girl to pencil in their name for dance #10. Music was always live and always some form of big band. There were chaperones everywhere to prevent anything resembling making out (though, of course, the kids found ways to circumvent it).
You also went to the movies (TV wasn’t really big until the middle of the decade). Big cities still have neighborhood theaters that you could walk to on a date, and even small towns were able to support a movie house, since most everyone in town would go to a movie once a week.
My mother was a bobby-soxer and couldn’t stand Sinatra. “Who would pay any attention to Frank Sinatra when there was Gene Krupa?” she says. My parents are older than yours, both born in 1921. But you can’t say what “teenagers” liked then any more than you can now: do all teens like Goth music, or Buffy, or violent computer games? Nope.
Remember, in the late 40s/early 50s there were the beginnings of the folk music craze; there was a lot of jazz; hot rods; Post-Expressionist art; beatniks; hot young writers like Mailer and Capote and Williams; and the beginnings of the post-War gay rights movement.
I bet they liked fucking.
Not everyone likes that, either.
Yeah, sure, with nobody owning cars and nobody having a room to themselves and Mom home all the time and no birth control and the poverty and disgrace of being a teen mother…sure, they all screwed around just like we all do :rolleyes:
Urban outer boroughs, Mom in Brooklyn, Dad in the Bronx. She was a little young for your demographic but I have some of her scrapbooks from the late fifties. She went to an all-girls school and still managed to date up a storm–I have placards from nightclubs (drinking age was 18), tickets from the half-price Gray’s Drugstore counter basement for Broadway shows, tons of concerts, etc. Of course, she was working-class and dates usually consisted of long walks in Manhattan, with maybe a stop at an automat or Schrafft’s, and visits to relatives of the guys (there was a smaller generation gap, and generations hung out amiably together). She liked mostly jazz and Latin dance music and Elvis Presley was seen as a hick and an overpackaged pop phenom by many New Yorkers much like some people view Britney today. Of course, she worked since the age of sixteen in Woolworth’s on weekends and all summer to make money for college (and ended up getting a scholarship anyway). She was the first in her family to go to college and almost all the girls in her HS did go to some form of higher education; the Irish, Italian, and Black middle classes often started out at huge parochial magnet schools like hers (Bishop O’Donnell, now closed).
Dad joined a lot of clubs at school; the Railroading Club, Film Club, etc. and they would also have private ‘clubhouses’ in the basements of the apartment houses they lived in, due to indulgent landlords. They dressed in shirts, jackets, and ties for school which actually saved the working class a lot of money–you’d get good things on sale at Loewmann’s or someplace and own only two or three shirts, two jackets, and five ties at a time, which Mom would bleach and starch every Sunday. Little kids hung out on the street but they wouldn’t have dreamed of cursing or littering in public and any passersby had no problem disciplining any random kid they came across who was acting up. Women–Italian and Jewish especially–had special kneelers or chairs that they could stay on and watch out the window, calling to friends and literally keeping an eye on the kids. If you fell down and skinned your knee, your mom knew about it before you reached the door and was waiting with Mercurachrome.
Public transportation was cheap and plentiful; at least in NY the trolley system was great, much better, non-polluting, and frequent than buses are now, and my Dad rode the subway (which was noisier and dirtier than now but much faster) alone from the age of nine, Mom from twelve (I had to wait until 13). Crime existed but it didn’t define and restrict lives, even though the neighborhoods were not at all wealthy. Movies were very common, and the theaters were palaces built to transport the people out of their lives.
Just because they didn’t do it doesn’t mean they didn’t want to. We all want to. It’s just one of those things you KNOW you will like. Don’t fool with Mother Nature. 
Here are the top 10 songs by year – the only caveat is that teenagers were not the driving force in music that they are today – the Industry really didn’t differentiate between adult and kids like it does today.
http://www.pvhs.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/ushist/top_songs.htm
Top movie stars, Bing, Hope & Jimmy Stewart – same caveat as above – tho the movies were “more” than our movies
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/pennvalley/biology/lewis/crosby/quigley.htm
If your Dad was into sports it was probably team specfic - he may have lived & died with them – you can look up the history of the team & see who his guys were
Asked my mom about this - The only name she came up with (music wise) was the Mills Brothers.
She said she wasn’t into music much, though, and that not all teens were as ‘music crazy’ as they are now.
RealityChuck, you need a reality check. 
I graduated from HS in 1955 at the age of 17, so I lived through the era you’re talking about. I used to listen to something called ‘Lucky Lager Dance Time’ which was a sort of top 40 (except I think it was 10) type of thing. For those age-challenged and California-challenged, Lucky Lager was a beer (maybe still is, but I don’t see it anymore).
I remember songs such as Mairzy Doats, Kookie, Kookie lend me your comb and San Fernando Valley along with Sh-Boom, How Much is that Doggie in the Window, Rock around the Clock, Goodnight Irene, Tennessee Waltz and Jailhouse rock.
Elvis was just starting at that time and he was a lot hotter than Frank Sinatra. I think Sinatra was pretty much a 40’s guy. There were a lot of groups, The Ink spots, Mills Brothers, The Four Lads, Ames Brothers etc. too.
'course a little later the Beatles came in and also a lot of Folk singers, Pete Seeger, Kingston Trio, etc.
One thing I noticed between my fathers generation and mine: his generation wore hats. We abhored hats, and ties too. First time in my life that I remember wearing a hat was when i joined the Air Force and it was required.
Oh, I also owned my own car at 16 and had a job from age 14 on. (Still working too, and collecting Social Security). I did not have my own room, though!
One unusual thing about the late 40’s was that a lot of teenagers were older. Many of the veterans returning from WWII had entered the military at 17 or 18 right from high school. Now they were finally free of the restrictions of family and military life for the first time. Many of them were primarily interested in starting families and careers, but a substantial number of men in their early twenties decided to catch up on the years of “hanging out” they had missed.
The “rock stars” of the 40s were the big bands.
Just like today some of the bandleaders had showbiz wives.
Artie Shaw/Lana Turner,Harry James/Betty Grable,Phil Harris/Alice Faye.
If you were home in the evenings you’d “watch” Radio instead of TV,from sitcoms (Fibber Mcgee/Gildersleeve,E Bergen/Charlie Mcarthy),or crime drama (Mr.and Mrs. North,the Shadow)to comedy/variety (Benny,Fred Allen,Hope).
If you were a teen into hotrods,like the rice rockets of today,you probably were working on a 30s Model A coupe.
Jacket and tie were considered * de rigeur * for the Saturday night date,which may have been at a first run movie house (complete with a short,previews of coming attractions and the feature).These theatres usually had ushers dressed in a pseudo military style jacket and a flashlight to guide you to a seat if required.
And if you were younger during that period,but still old enough to be left out until 10 or so by the parents,a particular delight for a friend of mine was to go to the early show and get a seat near the front (these were usually sparsely settled) and let a big’un rip just at a climactic moment in the love scene.Never failed to attract a few snickers or guffaws,as well as the usher’s attention.This was followed by an invitation to leave,but only after we got our money back.No wonder that one manager always gave us the fisheye when he’d see us coming into his theatre.
A bigger night(for the older guys that hadn’t blown their cool with their dates for appreciating our particular brand of monkeyshines at the movie) would have been dancing at a ballroom with a live band.
What they did afterwards I can’t say as I would have been tucked in for the night.
The teen electronic geeks of the day were busy with short wave radio,build it yourself superhet radios from Popular Mechanics or Popular Science articles,and some “radio controlled” planes and cars,much like today’s whatever they call them toy cars with remote controls.
If you lived in the city,instead of being bombarded with the long line of fast food joints,you could go to an automat/cafeteria or your neighborhood greasy spoon/soda shop and hang out over the dining table/lunch counter.I don’t know what the rural people did for their out of the house meal arrangements/ * caffe klatches *
So things haven’t changed that much in so far as number of entertainment/amusement choices.
What ** has ** changed is the civility between the age groups and society in general.As a teen you’d always defer out of courtesy to your elders in a group,and,tho maybe not wanting to emulate them in your future pursuits,you wouldn’t be vocal in your opposition to their standards.
Upon preview I’m struck with the fact that Edgar Bergen made a career out of being a ventriloquist on the ** Radio! ** Nice work if you can get it.I remember the first time I saw him on the movie screen saying “Hey,this guy’s lips move a mile a minute” I always felt cheated somehow after that.
My dad was 20 in 1950. Once out of the Army, he’s never worn a hat again. He loved jazz and swing music and “going jitterbugging” (swing dancing). He was always a great dancer. And for a brief while he was a professional rollerskater.
Mom worked at a Department store and lived at home with her parents. My mom liked dressing up and going dancing and my parents met at a USO dance.
Dad, born in 1927. Joined up during WWII at the ripe old age of 17, right after graduating high school.
First assigned to the Coast Gaurd in Italy as a radioman. When Air Force was born, he was able to be reassigned, this time as a sentry/marksman in various sites in Germany.
It really disturbed him to see some of the things that happened in that ravaged nation. So, he and his buds let of steam by partying hard at clubs. He was also gay/bi (“fucking queer” to many of his fellow soldiers), so his ideas of letting off steam including engaging in the sexual activities available to a bisexual Clark Gable looking young American in a war torn Europe. He also gained a little bit of a reputation as a psycho fighter. After a while, hardly anyone hassled him.
Came back home to Texas in 1949 and tried not to be gay.
His musical tastes were always geared toward classical. In school, he even got to conduct (sometimes) the orchastra. He never liked too much of the singing of “new” music, like the crooners, but he adored opera. He also was very much into the Latin scene for partying and dancing.
He and his friends and relatives were very big into hobbies. He was a member of a photography club and was a radio/electronics hobbyist.
Mom, born 1937.
This was a wild girl. She bobby soxed and later rocked and rolled. As an older teen, she was in the typing pool at Tinker Air Force base. She was a looker, so she got all sorts of military guy attention, which she loved.
Live Rock & Roll was her favorite scene. There was plenty of it, too, what with local groups playing the clubs and parties and the occasional big name coming around to play for the base or at local colleges. She was also a professional singer and sang back up for some groups and was part of a vocal trio that sang for weddings, funerals, etc…
Like I said, she was a wild girl. She liked to drink and drag race and go clubbing with Air Force men.
She moved to San Antonio at the age of 20 with a couple of freinds and got really hooked by the Latin scene. By 22, she had married my Dad. Yeah, Dad stayed single till 32 and then snagged him a little hottie.
Of course, their music and entertainment choices were a big influence on me. Just guess what music I like?
Well, maybe not all of them, but a lot of them, I’d bet. And whether or not they got around to fucking, they probably liked the idea!
Isn’t that when the baby boom started?
Another 'Fifties grad here. Your Hit Parade was a monthly magazine back then that gave you the lyrics to Top Ten and other popular songs. Here’s a listing for one month in 1955:
Johnny Ace, Pledging My Love
Chuck Berry, Maybelline
Pat Boone, Ain’t That A Shame
The Cadillacs, Speedo
Ray Charles, I’ve Got A Woman
The Crew Cuts, Ko Ko Mo, Earth Angel
Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley
Fats Domino, Ain’t That A Shame
Bill Haley & The Comets, Rock Around The Clock, See You Later Aligator
Roy Hamilton, Unchained Melody
Bill Hayes, Ballad Of Davy Crockett
Litle Richard, Tutti-Fruitti
Dean Martin, Memories Are Made Of This
The Penguins, Earth Angel
The Platters, Only You, The Great Pretender
Perez Prado, Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White (instrumental)
The Robins, Smokey Joe’s Café
Popular music was going through a huge transition at the time as seen by the listing.
I was fortunate to have grown up in the SF Bay Area where it was possible to go to concerts at the Cow Palace (SF) or at the Oakland Auditorium nearly every weekend. They were racially mixed and ‘race music’ or rhythm and blues were the standard. The concerts usually had about 10-15 performers or groups, usually one-hit wonders.
‘Making out’ was pretty universal and involved activity usually above the waist. ‘Going steady’ was common and again usually involved only making out. The majority of girls I knew lost their virginity somewhere around 17-18 – I can’t think of anyone younger than that, although there was always gossip. The boy you lost your virginity to was usually one you’d dated for months and months. Girls rarely admitted it and it was only in later years at reunions that we all shared this kind of info.